Psilocybin has shown that it might be very useful within the fight against depression. However, there are also legal and security issues.
The effect of psilocybin on depression has been the topic of research lately. This Psychedelic Compound Is Found in ‘Magic Mushrooms’ (Psilocybe cubensis) of which it’s estimated that there are about 100 species.
A recent study described in diary Nature’s medicine suggests that the substance has therapeutic potential for symptoms of major depression and other mood disorders. However, its use is restricted by problems with legality and safety. We’ll provide you with all the main points below.
What is psilocybin?
Psilocybin is one in all the important compounds in magic mushroomstogether with psilocin. It is assessed as “psychedelic” because chargeable for causing hallucinations and other psychoactive effects when consumed.
In addition, it’s a substance that folks have attributed therapeutic properties to due to its stimulating effect on the brain. And although its use comes from indigenous traditions, lately it has been the topic of interest, amongst others in research.
Thus, the researchers observed that its assimilation contributes to a decrease within the activity of the medial prefrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex, which contributes to the control of depressive states.
In native ancestral medicine, magic mushrooms with psilocybin are dried before getting used. They are then eaten in mixtures with food or drink. Its effects appear after half-hour and last as long as 6 hours.
As with other varieties of hallucinogens, its clinical use is restricted by The Act on Drugs and Controlled Substances. It’s one in all the Schedule 1 drugs that warns that there’s a high risk of abuse. For this reason, its medical use was long rejected as a treatment within the United States.
Despite, lately there was a renaissance of research on its pharmacological motion, results that link its use with positive effects against depression, anxiety, anorexia, obsessive-compulsive disorder and various types of addiction.
Due to the evidence gathered in several clinical trials, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has labeled psilocybin a “breakthrough therapy” for severe depression.
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Psilocybin research against depression
The potential of psilocybin as an adjuvant in the sector of psychiatry has been studied because the Nineteen Fifties. Since that point researchers observed that this substance has antidepressant properties, which can support the treatment of varied mental disorders.
Limitations to conducting research started to appear within the Seventies, after placing the substance on Schedule 1 of the Act on Drugs and Controlled Substances. This limited federal funding for research, which prevented trials for a very long time.
But after a series of experiments conducted in 2012, researcher Robin Carhart-Harris and his team from Imperial College in London got interested again assessment of therapeutic potential psilocybin. Thus, in 2016, promising clinical trials were conducted.
The study described within the journal Lancet Psychiatry reported that two doses of psilocybin together with psychiatric therapy can significantly reduce symptoms of depression. That was too It has been found to provide noticeable, lasting improvements in anxiety and anhedonia.
To conduct the trial, the researchers checked out the results of psilocybin in a gaggle of 12 major depressive patients (six men and 6 women). They received oral doses of the substance in the quantity of 10 mg and 25 mg with an interval of seven days. In addition, psychological support was provided before, during and after each admission. Depressive symptoms were assessed between 1 week and three months after treatment.
All patients showed a major reduction in depressive symptoms.
Recent research
Recent studies of psilocybin against depression support its potential as an antidepressant. In reported studies in Journal of Psychopharmacology Psilocybin treatment has been reported to advertise relief from major depression, with effects lasting as much as 12 months.
In turn, in New England Journal of Medicine found a single dose of the synthetic version of psilocybin it was useful for controlling depressive symptoms in individuals with a treatment-resistant version of the disease. The latter occurs when there is no such thing as a response to the results of common antidepressants.
The latter study involved 223 patients who got doses of 1 milligram, 10 milligram and 25 milligram. In the tip, the strongest dose, 25 milligrams, proved to be essentially the most effective, and the results lasted as much as 3 months.
Psilocybin risks and unwanted effects
In most healthy adults, psilocybin was well tolerated when used under controlled conditions in a single or two doses. Despite this, you need to not ignore the incontrovertible fact that this substance may cause various symptoms unwanted effects. They will be mild or moderate and include:
- Nausea
- Paranoia
- Hallucinations
- headaches
- Confusion and fear
- Weak muscles
- High blood pressure
- Lack of coordination
- Change in heart rhythm
Use in patients with mental illness just isn’t advisable like schizophreniaas there’s concern that it might make symptoms worse. It also needs to not be taken concomitantly with serotonergic drugs and other stimulants.
On the opposite hand, recreational use of psilocybin magic mushrooms must be avoided. This is because the quantity of this substance can vary in each type, making it difficult to know the intensity and duration of the tip effects.
Since they are usually not taken in a controlled environment, such consumption increases the danger of antagonistic reactions.
Not to say it these mushrooms have characteristics just like poisonous mushrooms, which increases the danger of poisoning and more serious consequences akin to organ damage and even death.
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What to recollect about psilocybin therapy?
The antidepressant potential of psilocybin therapy has been confirmed by some recent clinical trials. Nevertheless, keep this in mind that it’s a substance whose effects are still being studied. There just isn’t enough evidence to contemplate it a drug of first alternative for treating depression.
Some firms are currently developing industrial types of psilocybin. And although some US states legalize its therapeutic use, the substance stays in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
Experts also warn against this depressed patients shouldn’t self-medicate with psilocybin by consuming magic mushrooms or supplements. In the absence of dosing control, there’s a high risk of antagonistic effects.
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